Button Fan
Double entendre: cards of buttons arrayed in a fan shape, drawn by a fan of buttons.
Buttons
From a vast collection of inherited buttons.
Embroidery Thread
From a collection of embroidery threads on cards.
Flying Off
The scissors bird, a button in its “mouth”, flies above a landscape of thread.
Domestic Balance
The pincushion balances, perhaps precariously, on the “teeth” of the pinking shears.
hand-me-down/handiwork
An old pincushion filled with sawdust, which is now leaking out, belonged to my grandfather who did sewing and other handiwork.
Nest
The traditional womens’ work at the center of the home.
Pinbox
Trompe l’oeil inspired by an old pinbox.
Bird Song
“Birds” singing to one another on a branch.
Assorted sewing accessories
Collection of the Henry Sheldon Museum
The navy blue pincushion belonged to Charity Bryant, half of a same-sex couple living in Weybridge, VT in the nineteenth century.
Sewing machine
Collection of the Henry Sheldon Museum
Buttons; Embroidery Thread; Button Fan; Flying Off
Pinbox; Domestic Balance; hand-me-down/handiwork; Nest